NCIS: National Crime (and) Intragenic Specialists
by Purple-Muse
Summary: AU: The NCIS team must solve the case of a serial killer in DC. Is it a bigoted mad man (or woman,) or someone far more sinister? (A full, more detailed summary, is inside.) Tibbs pairing,established relationship.
1. Chapter 1

**There are almost 7.5 billion people in the world. Of these, only 0.75% have the 'enhancement gene,' allowing them to possess unique, incredible abilities. They are strong, they are powerful, but they are ALSO still human. They bleed the same way, they feel the same way, and they can die the same way, including being murdered.**

 **It is the job of the NCIS (National Crime (and) Intragenic Specialists) to solve cases both involving and against these people...**

 **A serial killer targeting those with the gene is on the loose in DC. Is it a bigoted mad man (or woman) or someone far more sinister?**

...

 _AN: This is a wip and I'm writing as I go, so updates may be a little sporadic. Also, despite the focus of a young McGee in this chapter the story will be team-focused with a Tibbs pairing._

Chapter One: Timothy's Enhancement

1989

Timothy McGee was ten when it happened. Now, granted, it WAS always expected of him; it was in his genes after all, it was just never meant to happen in this particular way.

Tim was playing outside his home in Alameda, California with a soccer ball. This was a rare occurrence for a boy who usually spent most of his time in front of a computer screen. However his mother, Linda McGee, was the sort of person who believed that it was unhealthy for a young boy to be stuck indoors all day, so she had pushed him out the door with instruction that he spend at least an hour outside.

Tim kicked the ball against the wall of a neighbouring home for about twenty minutes when a particularly hard punt rebounded the ball off the wall and into the street. Despite the fact that the boy knew about road safety, he ran out into the street after it and didn't see the dark blue 1987 Camaro heading towards him.

It was the screech of tyres that finally caused Tim's head to turn. As his eyes locked with the stunned driver, Tim screwed his shut and one thought raced like a locomotive through his mind:

 _Oh God I wish I was back on the sidewalk!_

He braced himself for the impact, for the pain.

But it never came. The only thing that came was a brief moment, a second, where the world around him seemed to stop. It was like someone had pressed the pause button on his VHS machine.

Time passed. It could have been seconds or minutes Tim wasn't sure, but eventually he opened his eyes.

He was back on the sidewalk.

The boy patted himself down and looked around in frantic bewilderment.

What had happened?

The driver of the Camaro, a silver-haired man in his sixties, brought his car to a sudden halt.

He rolled the window down and stared at the boy on the concrete. He didn't ask if Tim was OK, he didn't ask if Tim needed help.

No, the driver said just four words:

"You're one of them."

Then he rolled the window back up and sped off.

Frightened and confused, Tim picked himself back up and raced into the house, his soccer ball forgotten about.

He found his mother in the kitchen and rushed up to her, tugging on the hem of her skirt.

"Timothy!" Linda scolded, "I told you that you had to stay outside for at least an hour, what are you doing indoors again?"

Tim's bottom lip wobbled and he buried his face in his mother's side.

Finally realising that her son was upset about something, Linda gently ruffled the boys hair and pushed Tim away from her before kneeling down so they were almost face to face.

"What on Earth's the matter, Tim?"

The boy sniffled and raised his head. "I was playing outside with my ball...and...and it went into the road, and I went after it and...and.. a car came. I didn't see it."

Linda's eyes widened in motherly anxiety. "Are you OK? Did the car hit you?"

Tim shook his head and sniffed. "No, I...I closed my eyes and...and...when I opened them again I was back on the sidewalk."

"What do you mean you were 'back on the sidewalk,' Tim? Did someone push you out of the way?"

Tim shook his head. "No, the man in the car stopped and said to me, "you're one of them," and then he drove off."

A strange feeling began to make it's way along the bottom of Linda's stomach. She pulled her son into a tight hug, caressing the back of his head with her hand.

"Timmy," she whispered, "did anything happen before you found yourself back on the sidewalk?"

Her son's voice was muffled from where he had his face buried in the crook of her neck. "No – well – I remember wishing that...that...I was back on the sidewalk and when I opened my eyes I was."

Taking a deep breath, Linda stood up and released her son from the hug. She walked over to their dining table and pulled out one of the chairs, turning it so that it was facing Tim.

"Son, I want you to do something for me, ok? It might be a little scary but I promise you that nothing bad will happen."

"What do I have to do?" Tim asked as he chewed anxiously on his bottom lip.

"I need you to close your eyes and imagine that you're sat in this chair. Picture it in your head, can you do that for me?"

Despite his confusion at the request Tim nodded. He closed his and pictured himself sat in the chair opposite him.

Like before, when he had miraculously escaped from the car, Tim felt the entire world stop for a brief second. There was no sound, no movement, nothing. The sensation lasted as long as it took him to blink, and then he opened his eyes again.

He was sat in the chair.

Tim's eyes darted around the room and he began gasping for breath. Seeing his panic Linda rushed forward and grabbed her son in another tight embrace, shushing him as she did so.

"It's ok Timmy," she reassured her son. "There's nothing to be afraid of. I promise you, this is a good thing."

"What's happening to me, Mom?"

Linda smiled at him and kissed her son lightly on the forehead. "It looks like your enhancement gene has activated."

Tim's eyes widened. "It has? Like Dad's did when he was little?"

"That's right, Timothy, my brave boy is becoming more like his father every day."

Linda stood up and took her son by the hand, leading him into the living room. She told him to sit on the sofa and then picked up the phone, dialling the number for the doctor's office.

It rang for approximately thirty-seconds before a female voice answered.

"Alameda Enhancement Facility, Katie Watson speaking, how may I help?"

"This is Linda McGee, I am ringing to request an appointment to see Dr. Francis Monroe; It's about my son."

"What is the nature of the appointment, Ma'am?"

"My son's enhancement gene has activated and I'm ringing to book the mandatory blood test."

"Very well Ma'am, let me check the appointment book."

There was a pause and the sound of rustling pages could be heard before Katie came back on the line.

"Thank you for holding, I am able to schedule you in for an appointment at 2.30pm this Thursday, would that be satisfactory?"

"That would be perfect, thank you."

"You're welcome, Ma'am."

Hanging up, Linda turned to find Tim standing behind her.

"Why do I have to have a blood test?" he asked.

"When a person's enhancement gene activates, they're required to get a blood test and a physical just to make sure that everything's ok."

"Did you have to have one?"

Linda shook her head. "I don't have the gene, sweetie."

"How come?"

"Not everyone has it, you know that. I don't have it, neither does your sister, but you and your father do. It's just something that happens."

There was a short silence as Tim rubbed the back of his neck and averted his gaze. "Do you think that Dad will be proud of my enhancement?" he whispered.

Linda gently tilted her son's chin up so that he was looking into her eyes. "You're Dad will think it's a wonderful thing, and if he doesn't you just need to remember that I think it's a wonderful thing. Grandma Penny will think so as well."

"She will?"

"Of course she will and don't worry about your father, I'll talk to him."

Tim nodded in agreement before asking, "does Sarah have the gene?"

"No, she doesn't," Linda replied, "and I don't want you teasing her about it, understand?"

"I won't, Mom." Tim paused; he seemed to be thinking about something.

"What is it, Tim?" Linda asked.

"I was just wondering...would I be able to use my...my enhancement to help people?"

"Timothy, as long as you're careful, you can use it in any way you wish. You're a very intelligent little boy and I believe that you can do whatever you put your mind to."

"Thanks Mom. Hey, how come that man in the car said to me, "you're one of them?" He sounded pretty upset and angry."

Linda sighed. "Sometimes there are people in this world, Timothy, who are...frightened by things they don't understand or consider different. In some people that fright can manifest as anger towards others."

"What does that have to do with my enhancement?" Tim wanted to know.

"Because some people – bigoted people – believe that those who have this gene are...different – dangerous - because of their abilities and the potential they can have."

"But...being able to teleport doesn't make me dangerous, does it?"

"No, it doesn't, as long as you remember that despite the gift you've been given you are still human, just as much as I, Sarah, and Grandma Penny are. Don't let this ability go to your head as you grow up, ok?"

"Ok."

"Good boy. Now, go upstairs and wash up for dinner. We'll get takeaway tonight as a treat since Sarah's at a sleepover."

"Thanks Mom!" Tim grabbed his parent in a hug before racing out the room and up the stairs.

Linda listened to him leave, debating whether she should tell him that he no longer had to use the stairs, but she ultimately decided against it.

Give the boy a chance to get use to it first.


	2. Chapter 2

**2004**

Timothy McGee stared down at the mangled, decomposing corpse, and tried not to vomit. Every single part of him was fighting to teleport away, to get back to the office as quick as possible. If he did that though, he wouldn't be doing his job properly. It wasn't often that he came out into the field and he didn't want to mess up by abandoning the scene.

The scent of the dead body was overpowering though and Tim felt the bile rise to his throat. Covering his mouth, Tim rushed to some bushes and vomited. His stomach turned somersaults over and over again as the younger agent bent over, panting.

He hadn't been an Agent very long and this was his first time out in the field properly. Ever since graduating from MIT he had wanted to use his degree in Computer Forensics for something good and helping to solve crimes had seemed like a good idea.

And then he was met with a scene like this.

"I sincerely hope you haven't contaminated my crime scene," a voice came from behind him.

Tim spun around so fast he almost fell over.

Standing so close to him that Tim could see his own reflection in his eyes, stood an imposing looking silver-haired man. He had piercing blue eyes that seemed to gaze right into Tim's soul.

"Uh, are...are you Agent Gibbs, Sir?" Tim asked.

"No, he's the tooth-fairy!" a voice answered sarcastically from the crime scene.

"DiNozzo!" Agent Gibbs – at least, Tim presumed it was Agent Gibbs, he hadn't actually confirmed it yet – shouted.

"Returning to work, Boss."

Tim risked a glance over the other agent's shoulder. He could see two other people by the dead body, a man and a woman. The man – DiNozzo – was crouched next to the dead guy. He looked up at the woman and said something to her. Tim couldn't hear it but whatever it was must have offended her because she kicked him in the ankle. It had to have hurt because she was wearing heels.

"Hey!" the agent in front of him snapped his fingers, bringing Tim's attention back to him. "Anyone touch the body?"

"Uh, no Sir, definitely not," Tim stammered.

"Did you touch the body?"

"Me?! No, of course not."

"Good," the agent nodded in satisfaction. He glanced off into the distance at something that seemingly only he could see. "Our M.E is coming – a Doctor Donald Mallard – go down and meet him and then guide him up here."

"Yes, Sir," Tim answered.

"Don't call me sir, it's Agent Gibbs to you."

Tim nodded frantically. "Yes, S-uh, Agent Gibbs." He whirled around and took off down the path and towards the road.

Gibbs watched him go before turning around and heading for the body and his team.

"How far away is Ducky?" Tony DiNozzo asked.

Gibbs turned around and squinted into the distance. "Approximately 11km," he answered.

"Does that McGee guy know how far away he is?" Agent Caitlin Todd asked.

"Nope," Gibbs replied brusquely.

"How far do you want to bet he'll get before he figures it out?" Tony smirked.

"Ah, I'll give it about half a km," Gibbs said. "He looked like a kid with a brain, he'll figure it out. Now, what have you found?"

Tony gestured to the ground. "Well, Boss, we found this dead body here, so that's interesting."

Gibbs smacked the younger agent across the back of the head.

"Thank you, Boss," Tony automatically replied, rubbing his head. "The deceased is a young male, cause of death is as yet unknown. Judging by the amount of decomposition, my guess is that it was at least a week or two ago. We'll have to wait for Ducky to arrive for confirmation."

Kate continued, "driving license in his pocket identifies him as William O'Connor, aged thirty-five. He also has the mark of enhancement on his left shoulder." She moved the collar of the dead man's t-shirt to one side, revealing a tiny tattoo in the shape of a DNA molecule.

Gibbs eyed the tattoo, unconsciously rubbing at his left shoulder as he did so. The former marine remembered receiving his own tattoo at the age of just eight. His mom had come with him. He had felt excited and grown up...

...until the needle came out.

Gibbs pushed the memory to the back of his mind and began issuing out orders to his team.

"Kate, I want pictures. The body, the surrounding area. Anything you think might be evidence. DiNozzo, cordon off the scene and then go and speak to the locals."

His two agents rushed to do as they were told. Gibbs watched them for a minute or two before turning around and gazing once more into the distance. His M.E was getting closer. The lead agent then focused his hearing in the direction that McGee guy had gone off in and listened.

His lips quirked up in a tiny grin.

Agent McGee was whispering to himself, under his breath.

But Gibbs could hear every word as clear as day.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"Who the heck does that guy think he is?" Tim muttered to himself as he moved. The agent wasn't sure how long he had been walking for, but he hadn't seen anyone who even remotely reassembled a Medical Examiner.

In fact, he hadn't seen anyone at all.

"How on earth did he know that his M.E was on his way?" Tim wondered. "I haven't seen any one. It's like the guy had super vision...or...something." He stopped suddenly, frozen to the spot. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me! Enhanced vision? Really?"

That meant there was no telling how far away this guy was. He could be miles.

"I'm going to give that Agent Gibbs a piece of my mind when I see him," Tim mumbled to himself as he sat on the side of the road. There was no point in going any further , might as well wait for the M.E to come to him.

He was just considering teleport ingredients back to Norfolk, when he noticed a van heading towards him. As he got closer he noticed the words, NCIS MEDICAL EXAMINER printed on the side.

"Oh, thank God." He got out and headed out to the middle of the road and waved his arms to stop the vehicle.

The window opened and an older leant out the passenger side. "Good day my fellow, are you lost?"

"Uh, no," Tim shook his head. "Are you Doctor Donald Mallard?"

"Indeed I am." He shook Tim's hand through the window. "You may call me Ducky. This is my assistant, Mr. James Palmer."

Palmer smiled at him. "Call me Jimmy, please."

"Uh, Agent Gibbs sent me down here to lead you to the crime scene," Tim said.

"Excellent my boy, hop on in." Ducky moved to the middle to make room for the younger man. "How long have you been waiting here?"

"I'm not quite sure," Tim answered. "Although I had figured that you were a little further away than had initially thought when I started out."

"Ah, fell victim to Agent Gibbs' incredible sight?" Ducky inquired.

"So I was right about that." Tim smiled, a little pleased that he had made the right assumption about the lead agent.

"You must be a pretty smart guy to figure that out so quickly," Jimmy complimented him.

Tim shrugged modestly. "It wasn't really that difficult. I'm just glad I worked it out before I walked too far!"

"Yeah, the walked back would have been torture!"

"Actually, uh, I wouldn't have had to 'walk' back at all."

Ducky raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oh?"

"My enhancement ability is teleportation," Tim explained. "It activated when I was eight."

"How come you didn't use it to get to us?" Jimmy asked.

Tim answered, "because I didn't know exactly where you were or what you looked like. I need a picture in my head of my destination, otherwise I'll just get lost."

"I see," Ducky nodded. "Well, I dare say that your enhancement has come in very handy in your career."

"Yes, it has," Tim replied. "Particularly when it comes to getting evidence in quickly."

"So what brings you out into the field?" Ducky asked. "Forgive me, but I don't believe I've seen you at any crime scenes and I've been to plenty of them, sadly."

"No, I work at the Norfolk office in cyber crimes, but I'm hoping to perhaps be promoted to field agent."

Ducky squeezed Tim's shoulder. "Well if that's what you want then stick with Agent Gibbs and his team. They may be a little eccentricity, but they are the best."

"That's what I'm hoping for."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"You found anything out yet, DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded.

"Not yet," Tony shook his head. "I spoke to the few residents around here, but no one has even heard of him. In a place like this you would have thought someone would have."

Kate looked up from where she was still taking pictures. "You think he may have been a stranger? The killer bought him in from out of town and then dumped him."

Tony shrugged, "it's a possibility."

"In that case we need to find out exactly where this guy came from," Gibbs said just as Ducky's van came around the corner.

"Hello Jethro," Ducky greeted as he climbed out the van. "A lovely day under the circumstances."

"I'm afraid it's about to get a little less lovely," Gibbs replied as gestured towards the body. "Young male, see what you make of it."

"I shall endeavour to do my best, Jethro." Ducky went to move towards the corpse, but then stopped. "That's a bright lad there," he said, pointing towards Tim who was talking to Jimmy as they unloaded the gurney. "Figured out that you had enhanced eyesight before I even got to him."

Gibbs gave a small smile, "I knew he would."

"Don't forget about Saturday night," Ducky continued. "Young Anthony is looking forward to it, it's all he keeps talking about."

Gibbs rolled his eyes good naturedly. "I haven't forgot, Duck. It's all he keeps talking to me about as well. Besides, that table reservation cost a fortune, no way am I going to forget it now."

"Good lad," Ducky patted Gibbs on the back as he moved away. "Now, let's see what we have here..."

After Tim had helped Jimmy with the gurney he moved towards the crime scene. As he walked past Gibbs the lead agent held his hand out to stop him.

"Ducky tells me that you figured out my enhancement pretty quickly," Gibbs commented.

"Uh, yes Agent Gibbs," Tim nodded nervously.

"Well done, that's good work."

Tim blinked in surprise at the compliment. Gibbs didn't seem like the type of guy who just gave them out. "Thank you?"

Gibbs tilted his head in acknowledgement before he turned and began walking away. Suddenly he stopped and turned back around. "Tell me Agent McGee, when are you planning on giving me a piece of your mind?"

Tim's eyes widened and he gaped at the older man. "Wait, what?"

"That was what you were saying, wasn't it? On your way down to meet, Ducky?"

Tim felt like the ground was about to swallow him up. It took all his effort not to teleport the hell out of there.

"Wait...you have enhanced hearing too?!"

Gibbs merely quirked his lips at him before turning away, leaving McGee staring after him in shock.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Ducky crouched down beside William O'Connor and tutted. "My poor fellow, you have been through the wars haven't you. Judging by the amount of decomposition my estimation is that you left the landing of the living almost a month ago."

"There wasn't any disturbance around," Tony commented. "No tracks, nothing, do you think he was killed somewhere else and then bought here?"

"It's very likely," Ducky replied. He pushed some hair away from William's forehead, revealing a small hole just below his hairline. "He's been shot in the head and judging by the size of the entrance wound, it was with a small caliber firearm."

"There an exit wound, Duck?" Gibbs asked from behind him.

"I was just about to find out Jethro," Ducky replied. "Kate, would you do the honours?"

"Of course, Ducky." Kate stepped up to the body and stared down at it. Tim watched as the agent raised her right hand, palm up. She slowly moved her hand upwards and, like a puppet on an invisible string, the body followed, seemingly sitting up of its own accord.

Tim's eye's widened. "Telekinesis," he whispered. In the years since his enhancement had activated he had come across many people like him, but watching someone use their ability in front of him was still an incredible sight.

As Kate rolled the body over, Tim spotted Tony watching out of the corner of his eye. There was a strange expression on the older agent's face. It was looked like awe mixed a hint of jealousy. Tim couldn't fathom why though. Was Tony envious of Agent Todd's enhancement? Come to think of it, what was Tony's ability? He had to have one, otherwise he wouldn't be part of this agency.

Before he could think to go over and ask, Tim heard Ducky say, " there's no exit wound, the bullet must still be lodged inside. As soon as I get this poor man to autopsy I shall have it removed and passed on to Abby."

As the body was being loaded onto the gurney, Tim sidled slowly up to Tony. "So, uh, Agent DiNozzo, that was pretty cool, huh?"

"What, the whole Kate can move things with her mind?" Tony shrugged. "Nothing that I haven't seen before." He eyed Tim up and down. "You're easily impressed, aren't you, McGeek?"

Tim frowned slightly at him. "No, and it's McGee."

Tony grinned at him, all pearly whites. "I know it is."

"Well, what's your enhancement then?" Tim asked. "You haven't done anything yet, and you seem like the type of guy who would be eager to show it off."

A flicker of anger flashed across Tony's face before it was gone in an instant and the smile was back. "Oh, I do, do I? What makes you think that?"

"Well, uh, I saw the look you gave Kate when she was using a telekinesis and..."

"And what look was that?" Tony interrupted him.

"You looked jealous," Tim replied. "It was clear that you wanted to be the one to, uh, show off what you can do."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "That's what you think that was?" he asked, incredulously. He shook his head. "McWrong, I've got just two words for you: 'Rule eight."

"What's rule eight?"

"Our boss has several personal rules that we as his team have to abide by. If you want to spend any time helping with this investigation then you had better learn them quick. Rule eight is, 'never assume' or 'never take anything for granted.'

"You're saying that I'm just 'assuming' about the look I saw on your face?" Tim asked.

Tony smirked at him. "I don't know...were you?" The older agent went to walk away, before suddenly turning back around and commenting, "by the way, I don't need my enhancement to 'show off what I can do.'

Tim sighed as he watched Tony walk away. Why did he get the feeling that working with this team was going to be harder than he thought?

Kate finished helping Ducky and came to see how Tim was fairing.

"How do you put up with him?" Tim asked, gesturing at Tony who was now whispering something to Gibbs.

"He's an acquired taste," Kate smiled. "You get used to his ways and he's a nice guy once you get to know him. Don't tell him I told you that. He won't let me hear the end of it."

"He sounds like a jerk," Tim muttered.

"Yeah, he does," Kate agreed. "But being a jerk and sounding like a jerk are two completely different things. If you spend time with us - especially Gibbs - you'll learn that."

As Tim considered that Kate asked, "so, what's your enhancement then. I presume you have one."

Tim nodded, "I do. I can teleport."

"Really? When did you activate?"

"I was ten-year-old's. It frightened the life out of me. I mean, I knew I had the gene, I just wasn't expecting it to activate so...abruptly."

"What happened?" Kate asked, curiously.

"I was nearly hit by a car," Tim explained. "If my enhancement hadn't kicked in at that moment I don't know what would have happened." He paused. "What about you? How did yours activate?"

Kate shrugged, "nothing special. I was eleven and there were these kids at school. They kept hassling me because, well, that's what kids did, I suppose. Anyway, I was walking home from school one day and one of the kids – Tyler Wadsworth – started throwing stones at me and I guess I saw red. The next thing I knew, Tyler was on the floor weeping from a cut in his head from the stone I rebounded back towards him."

"Wow," Tim breathed. "I bet they never hassled you again."

Kate shook her head with a sad smile. "Actually they did, but my enhancement helped me to stand up for myself and others. It's one of the reasons that I went into the Secret Service."

"So how did you meet...?" he gestured towards Gibbs and DiNozzo.

"A long complicated case involving Air Force One," Kate replied. "I'll tell you about it one day."

Tim found that he was looking forward to hearing about that. Then he frowned and asked hesitantly, "Hey uh, Agent Todd? What's Agent DiNozzo's enhancement? I tried to ask him but he kind of brushed me off."

Kate's eyes widened slightly and a look of confusion crossed her face. "Didn't Tony tell you?"

"No, tell me what?"

Kate glanced around briefly as if she were looking out for potential spies and then lowered her voice. "Tony's dormant, Tim."

Now is was Tim's turn to look surprised. "Dormant?!"

"Yeah," Kate nodded her head. "It means..."

"I know what it means," Tim interrupted. "I've just never heard of anyone being dormant at that age before. I mean, he's got to be – what – early thirties?"

If a person with the Enhancement Gene hadn't 'activated' by the time they were eighteen, they were considered to be 'dormant' by other members the enhanced society.

"Tony's a little sensitive about it," Kate said. "It's probably why he brushed you off earlier. Did you know that he's the only person in this entire agency whose Enhancement Gene hasn't activated yet?"

Tim shook his head. No wonder Tony had had that look on his face while he was watching Kate manipulate the body. It had to be hard to be surrounded by Enhanced humans and knowing that you should be one of them.

But one thing was bugging the young agent. "If Tony's enhancement hasn't activated yet, how come he still works for N.C.I.S?"

A voice whispered in his left earlobe.

"Because I'm damn good at my job."

Tim jumped and spun around to find himself up close and personal with DiNozzo. The elder agent was grinning madly at him, but there was a hint of annoyance in his green eyes. "Also, no where in the agency rules does it state that a person's Enhancement Gene has to be active in order to be an agent for N.C.I.S."

Tim considered that. It was true; he had read the agency rules back to front on that issue. Still..."I just think that being enhanced would make working here easier," he said. "I mean, we deal with people like you – us – all the time. Surely being active would be more beneficial for this agency."

Tony's smile dropped. "I've been working in law enforcement now for over six years and I've never needed an Enhancement Gene to do my job! and until Agent Gibbs kicks me off the team, I'll continue to do my job to the best damn way that I know how, enhancement or enhancement!"

Before Tim could say anything in reply, Gibbs called Tony over and the older agent rotated on his heels and stormed off towards his boss. Tim watched as the lead agent whispered something into Tony's ear, tapped him on the back of his head, and then – much to Tim's surprise – patted him gently on the cheek.

As he was watching the exchange, Kate came and stood beside him. "He's probably reminding Tony of rule five."

"Rule five?"

"Never waste good," Kate recited. "And Tony's right; he is good, even without being enhanced."

"Why would Agent Gibbs need to remind Tony about rule five?" Tim asked.

Kate gave a quiet chuckle. "You really don't think that Gibbs wasn't listening to our conversation, do you?"

Tim groaned quietly. "He heard what I said, huh?"

"Yep," Kate nodded her head. "Don't worry about it though, you're not the only one who has said that about Tony. I think he's use to it."

That made Tim feel even worse. He made a mental note to try not and underestimate Tony's ability in the future.

"So, uh, exactly how many rules does Agent Gibbs have?" Tim continued.

Kate thought for a second. "I think we're up to forty-something...or is it fifty-something?"

Tim's mouth dropped open. "How many! How am I supposed to learn and remember all of them? Are they written down anywhere?"

Kate shook her head. "I'm afraid they aren't, you'll have to remember them the way that I did."

"And how was that?" Tim asked.

Kate's smile when she replied was an almost perfect imitation of Tony's.

"You watch and learn Tim, you watch and learn."


	4. Memories

Chapter 4

It didn't take long for the William O'Connor to be loaded up into the back of Ducky's van for the drive back to autopsy. Kate joined Ducky and Palmer in the front, while McGee rode in the back, trying not to think about the fact that he was sharing the vicinity with a corpse. Agent Gibbs insisted – Ok, ordered – that he and Tony drove back in the car alone. Tim couldn't think why but he wasn't going to argue with Agent Gibbs.

Perhaps the lead agent wanted to know more about the earlier conversation between him and Tony. The younger agent still felt a little guilty about what he had said but, to be fair, he hadn't KNOWN that Tony was dormant. In fact, he had never met a dormant before, even during his teen years or at both colleges he had attended.

In the seemingly five minutes that he had known him, Tony seemed so confident about anything he said and did that Tim had been damn sure that the SFA was just waiting for a prime opportunity to show off his enhancement, perhaps hoping to rub it in Tim's face.

Turns out he was wrong. Tim sighed. Perhaps he should try and take Rule 8 to heart more.

Glancing up at the body of William O'Connor, Tim frowned. 'I wonder what your enhancement was,' he thought to himself. 'That's assuming that you weren't dormant as well.' He suddenly paused and laughed to himself before muttering, "there's that word again...assuming."

God, it seemed that he had a lot to learn if he wanted to achieve his dream of being a field agent.

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Meanwhile, in the agency car, Tony was gazing out of the window at the rapidly passing scenery, resting his cheek on his hand. He couldn't help but flash back to what Tim had said to him earlier.

" _Surely being active would be more beneficial for this agency."_

Tony sighed; it wasn't like he hadn't heard stuff like that before. There were plenty of people at NCIS who had made it pretty clear that the SFA didn't deserve his position within the agency. At least Tim had said what he did out of confusion rather than malice, though that didn't make it hurt any less.

The agent sighed against the window, allowing the glass to fog up, and began absent-mindedly drawing images with his finger.

"McGee doesn't know what he's talking about," he muttered quietly to himself.

"No, he doesn't," Gibbs spoke from the driver's seat, not taking his eyes off the road ahead of them. "But you know that already. McGee's relatively new to this, but he'll learn, just like Kate did when she started."

Tony smiled to himself as he turned to face Jethro. It had taken a while for the ex-Secret Service Agent to get use to the fact that her immediate superior was dormant. Now though, Tony had to admit, the two of them worked well together, even if they did occasionally have elbow jabbing vs PDA nosing moments.

"Hey Jethro, what's Tim's enhancement?" Tony asked. "Has he told you?"

"No, he hasn't told me," Jethro replied, "But I know anyway." He tapped his ear, indicating exactly _how_ he knew. "He can teleport."

"Teleportation? Really?" Tony thought for a second. "That wasn't what I was expecting."

"What were you expecting?" Jethro inquired.

Tony shrugged, "I don't know. I've only just met the guy and I can still tell that he's a bit of a...geek. I guess I was expecting something to do with electronics or computers. How old was he?"

"He was ten if I remember what he said to Kate," Jethro replied. "It activated after he was almost hit by a car."

Tony's eyes widened. "Wow, lucky kid." He Sighed and turned back to the window murmuring, "I'm never going to get my enhancement, am I?"

Jethro took his hand off the wheel and squeezed Tony's knee. "Anthony, you have to be patient, I keep telling you that."

"I'm thirty-two-years-old Jethro, how much more patient do I have to be?" Tony said. "I've worked in dangerous environments before; I've been shot, stabbed, beaten up...and nothing! What more do I have to do?"

The car was approaching a red light and, much to Tony's surprise, Gibbs actually obeyed it. As the car came to a stop, Jethro leaned over and lightly kissed his partner on the corner of the mouth. "I bet that when you activate your enhancement will be one of the best, and will be well worth the wait."

Tony turned back and gazed at Gibbs with emotion-filled eyes. "You really think so, Jethro?" he hazard.

Gibbs smiled as the light changed to green. "I know so, you'll be unstoppable. You know what they say, Tony?"

"No, what?"

"Good things come to those who wait."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

When the autopsy van arrived back at the Navy Yard, Tim jumped out and then helped Ducky and Jimmy remove the body, while Kate said she would head up to the Bullpen. They wheeled William through the back of the building and into autopsy.

"Thank you for your assistance gentlemen," Ducky said. "Timothy, why don't you go upstairs and meet with Caitlin?" He gave the younger agent directions to the Bullpen.

Timothy thanked the Medical Examiner and headed towards the elevator that would take him up to the Bullpen.

Watching him leave, Ducky turned to Jimmy. "Would you fetch my tools Mr Palmer? I believe we have an autopsy to perform."

"Right away, Doctor Mallard," Jimmy replied and raced (literally) away, leaving several papers scattered over the floor in his wake.

Ducky sighed and rubbed his temple as Jimmy raced back, carrying the autopsy supplies. "Mr Palmer," he sighed, "How many times have I told you not to demonstrate your excessive speed in autopsy?"

Jimmy flushed slightly as he took in the mess he had left behind. "I'm sorry Doctor Mallard, I'll pick them up right away."

"Please make sure you do so at a normal pace," Ducky ordered.

After Jimmy had tidied up the papers, he joined Ducky at the autopsy table. The elder man was cataloguing any scars or marks that William had collected over the years of his life.

"Victim has the Mark of Enhancement on his shoulder," Ducky reported, pausing as he waited for Palmer to write the information down. "There's also a six inch scar underneath his right wrist."

After he had finished cataloguing any scars and marks, Ducky took William O'Connor's fingerprints to keep on record before moving to study the victim's skull.

"The bullet appears to be a through and through," Ducky commented. "It exited out of the base of the skull, leaving significant bone and tissue damage. In comparison, the entrance wound is much cleaner, though there is an imprint of the gun barrel as well as ring of gunshot residue."

He paused and turned to his assistant whose right hand was blur of motion as he wrote. "Are you getting all of this, Mr Palmer?"

Jimmy Palmer stopped and glanced up. "Yes, Doctor Mallard," he replied.

"Very good, my lad," the elder man complimented. "Now then, let us get some measurements and a sample of this GSR down to Abby, perhaps she will be able to tell us exactly which firearm was used to end this poor man's life. After that, I shall bring out my trusty scalpel."

"Right away, Doctor Mallard," Palmer rushed off to collect and prepare the samples for their Forensic Scientist.

As he did so, Ducky continued to take a look at their dead man, paying particular attention to his Mark of Enhancement.

"I remember receiving my enhancement very much so," the Examiner reminisced. "It was Thursdays, August 22nd 1940. The Battle of Britain was raging over the skies and I was a young lad of just seven-years-old. At exactly 2.30pm my mother and I were in the city one day when the air raid siren sounded. We were ushered into the nearest shelter and huddled together as the bombs blasted overhead."

Ducky closed his eyes as images of that day danced like a movie through his mind's eye: his mother's brand new dress covered in dust, a little red-headed girl crying after being separated from her parents, and the way the earth seemed to shake to its very foundations with every explosion outside the shelter.

Looking down William O'Connor, Ducky continued down memory lane with his singular, unresponsive audience.

"To take my mind off the events, I took a book that I had managed to purchase out of my satchel. 'Tarzan the Magnificent' it was called, by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Amongst the rumblings of the air raid I began to read, and as I did so detailed images began to paint themselves into me. It was as if Vincent Van Gogh himself was using my mind as a canvas. I could see Tarzan's jungle as clear as day and each and every word of the story embedded itself into me."

"And then what happened?" came a voice from behind him.

Ducky spun around to discover that Jimmy had returned from taking the samples to Abby.

"Mr Palmer, please do not sneak up on me like that," Ducky reprimanded, "I am not as young as I once was."

"Sorry, Doctor Mallard," Palmer apologised, "Please continue."

"Very well. By the time it was safe to come out again, I had managed to read almost half of the book. As my mother and I walked back home, avoiding the rubble that had been left in the raid's wake, I began to tell my mother all about what I had read. Much to my surprise – and my mother's as well, come to think of it – I found that I had memorised the entire half of the story that I had read word for word. It was like I could see each and every phrase and paragraph when I closed my eyes."

"What did your Mom say?" Palmer asked.

"She asked me how many times I had read the book, and when I told her that this was the very first time she looked at me with surprise at first, before simply stating, "It's happened."

Ducky paused and chuckled slightly.

"What are you laughing at?" Palmer looked at his mentor, perplexed.

"I merely find it oddly amusing that my mother will not remember any of this conversation due to her Alzheimers, despite how important that day was to me, but it will be with me until the day I die."

"Do you enjoy having such a good memory?" Palmer wanted to know.

Ducky smiled and shrugged. "If the memories are good ones, yes. But I have lived a long life, Mr Palmer, some of it not so great, so there are memories that I wish I could seal up in a box and throw away the key. Alas, I can not"

"What memories are they?"

Before Ducky could answer, the phone rang. He picked it up and spoke briefly, explaining to the person on the other end that he hadn't finished the autopsy yet, before sighing and replacing the receiver.

"That was Jethro. He and Anthony have arrived back and our esteemed leader shall be down for a report post-haste."

He gently squeezed William O'Connor's cold shoulder. "We will find out what happened to you my lad, I promise. Jethro is one of the best Agents out there. I should know, because I remember every single one of his cases. He – and his team – won't let you down."


	5. Chapter 5

"What have you got for me Duck?" Gibbs strolled into autopsy less than five minutes after having called the older man

"Perfect timing, as always," Ducky greeted his friend. "I'm just concluding our young Mr. O'Connor's autopsy." He moved to stand next to the dead man's head. Gibbs came and stood opposite him.

The M.E. pointed at the bullet wound.

"Judging by the angle of the entrance wound and it's...cleanliness – shall we say – I am going to conclude that the bullet wound is self-inflicted. The residue around the entrance and on the victim's fingers would also suggest this."

"So we're looking at a suicide," Gibbs stated.

"It would appear so," Jethro," Ducky replied. "I have sent Mr Palmer to give some blood samples to Abby. We need to rule out any internal influences that may have lead to this poor man taking his life."

"Good, I'll get McGee to do his computer mojo thingy," Gibbs said, "see if he can find anything in O'Connor's background that may have lead to this."

"How is young Timothy fairing?" Ducky asked. "He seemed like a bright young fellow when I picked him up on my way to the crime scene earlier."

"He's green," Gibbs said bluntly. "But smart, I'll give him that. Seems to know his way around a computer at least as well as Abby does, if not better." The lead agent paused for a second before stating, "suffers from foot in mouth disease though."

"What do you mean?"

"I 'overheard' him and Kate talking at the crime scene. Kate told him about Tony's lack of enhancement, and Tim questioned Tony's position in the agency because of it. Tony heard and took a bit of an offense to it. You know how he is."

Ducky sighed and nodded. "Our Anthony likes to hide it, but he is sensitive. You can't blame the poor lad though, nor can you blame Timothy for his words. I doubt the young man has ever met a dormant before; there aren't many of them around."

"That doesn't give him the right to question who I have on my team," Gibbs scowled.

"No, it doesn't," Ducky placated his friend. "But like you said, Timothy is green. The more time he spends with you, Anthony, and Caitlin the more he will grow and learn."

"I certainly hope so, Ducky," Gibbs replied. "I better head back up there, I left Tony in charge and he's probably torturing McGee to the point of exasperation by now."

The M.E chuckled. "I'm sure Caitlin will be keeping our young men in line."

 **OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

"DiNozzo! Leave him alone!" Kate demanded at the grinning SFA.

"Don't be such a spoilsport Katie-Pie," Tony said, picking up another rubber band and flicking it across the bullpen at the youngest of the trio. This band hit a scowling McGee on the side of the head before joining it's brethren on the desk top.

Tim shot his head up again and glared at the other man. "Would you please stop flicking bands at me, Agent DiNozzo."

The older agent smiled serenely at him. "My apologies McSensitive. I promise I won't flick any more blue bands at you."

Sighing in relief, Tim went back to his task of finding out anything about the background of William O'Connor.

Suddenly another band hit him on his cheek this time. Tim's head shot up and he glared at Tony. "You promised you wouldn't flick anymore bands at me!"

Tony cocked his head to one side and pointed at Tim. "Actually, McWrong, I said that I wouldn't flick anymore _blue_ bands at you; that was a red one."

The SFA picked up a yellow band this time and took aim at the younger agent. He pulled it back and released it, grinning in anticipation as he watched the band sail through the air towards its intended target.

However, before that band had a chance to strike, Tim suddenly leapt up and disappeared from his desk. He reappeared less than half a second later in front of Tony's desk, startling the SFA.

Before Tony had a chance to recover, Tim reached forward and grabbed all of the bands of off Tony's desk before teleporting back to his own and throwing them non too gently into his trash can. He sat back down at his desk and carried on with his research as if nothing had happened.

Across the room Kate was struggling to keep her composure even as her shoulders shook with mirth at Tony's pouting expression.

"It's not funny Kate," Tony whined. He crossed his arms and glared at Tim out of the corner of his eye for daring to take away his fun.

"It kind of is Tony," Kate argued. "Tim showed you up good. Plus, you should be _working_."

"I am _working_ , Katie."

"No you're not," Kate scoffed, "you're flicking bands at McGee."

"That true, Tony?" came a voice from the elevator. "You shirking your duties to play around?"

The SFA's head jerked up as Gibbs came strolling towards them. "Yes, uh, I mean no. No, I wasn't shirking my duties."

"Good," Gibbs replied bluntly. "Then you can show us what you've got."

Tony leapt up from his seat, grabbing the remote for the screen as he did so. Tim watched him out of the corner of his eye, as Kate too got up from her desk.

Suddenly feeling eyes upon him, Tim looked around to find Gibbs glaring at him expectantly.

"Are you going to be joining us any time soon, Agent McGee?"

"Oh, uh," McGee stuttered. "I was expecting..."

"Don't 'expect,' McGee," Gibbs interrupted, "Do!"

"Yes, Sir - I mean - Agent Gibbs." Tim leapt up from his seat and hurried to join the others.

Tony pressed the clicker and an image of the victim in his appeared on the screen.

"This is William O'Connor, born in the Big Apple in 1969, on the very same day that good ol' Neil Armstrong and his buddies first step foot on the moon."

"Thank you for our fact of the day, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled. "Can we move on now?"

Not the least bit put off by his boss's attitude, Tony grinned before continuing, " his parents were Wendy and Hank O'Connor. Wendy was born in Dublin, Ireland, before immigrating to New York in 1966 at the age of nineteen. She met Hank within six months of arriving, they were married less than eighteen months later, and baby William arrived soon after."

Tim took over, taking the clicker out of Tony's hand as he did so.

"Hank O'Connor was born and raised in New York. As far as I can tell he's a real home-boy; never really left the city much. His father, Freddy O'Connor, was a door to door shoe salesman. Hank would help him out on occasion."

Kate followed on from Tim.

Hank was an enhanced human, but Wendy wasn't. He came into his ability – telepathy - in 1961 at the age of thirteen. This was rather a surprise to both of his parents because there hadn't been an Enhanced Human in their family for four generations."

"What was William's enhancement?" Gibbs asked.

Kate frowned. "I don't actually know," she admitted.

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't know?" he echoed. "How can you not know?"

Kate shrugged helplessly and looked over at McGee for assistance, but the younger agent looked just as perplexed as he too admitted that he didn't have a clue either.

Gibbs threw his hands up in frustration. "Great, what the hell am I paying you for?!" He stalked back towards his desk with a terse command to "find out!"

Before he had a chance to sit down though, Tony's voice spoke up.

"Pathokinesis."

Gibbs spun around to face his SFA. "What did you say?"

"Pathokinesis," Tony replied. "That was William's enhancement. It's also known as Emotion Manipulation. William is able – or, should I say, WAS able – to control and manipulate the emotions of anyone around him as long as he had eye contact."

Both Kate and Tim stared at Tony in astonishment.

"How the heck did you find that out?" Tim wanted to know. "I spent ages going through every record I could find and NOTHING came up!"

Tony flashed that cocky you grin of his at the other agent. "Like I told you before, McGeek, I'm damn good at my job. You have your sources and I have mine. It just so happened that mine turned out to be a little better than yours this time."

Tim opened his mouth to say something along the lines of how Tony's 'source' was probably some floozy he knew, when he suddenly remembered his promise to himself to not underestimate Tony's skill despite his dormancy.

So instead the younger agent merely smiled at the SFA and complimented, "nice one Agent DiNozzo, you've saved me from the extra research work. Not to mention all three of us from a major Gibbs headache, if you know what I mean." He glanced at the lead agent as he said this and saw Gibbs' lips pull up into what McGee hoped was a tiny smile.

Tony blinked in surprise, not expecting the compliment. "Uh, thanks, McCompliment. I... appreciate it."

"You're welcome," Tim replied, patting a still perplexed Tony on the shoulder as he returned to his desk.

Left standing in the middle of the Bullpen, Tony turned to Kate and asked, "What was that all about?"

Kate merely shrugged and said quietly. "I think McGee may be beginning to take Rule Eight to heart."

"Never assume?" Tony quoted. "Never assume what?"

"That you're a good agent," Kate replied. She paused and then added, "Some of the time."

Tony wasn't quite sure how to take this somewhat backhanded compliment from Kate, so he decided to bask in the rare nicety from the female agent.

"It's the 'some of the time' that counts the most Katie-pie," Tony pointed out with a wink.

"Yeah, yeah," Kate chuckled and lightly punched the SFA on the shoulder before asking, "Where DID you get that information from, Tony?"

Tony tapped his nose and replied, "Like I told Tim, I have my sources and you have yours."

"Come on Tony," Kate frowned. "What's the big secret?"

"Sorry Katie," Tony shrugged. "I have to keep some sources to myself. It's the only way I can stay in the boss's good books and that's a rare thing."

"I think it was probably some floozy."

Tony shrugged nonchalantly. "You can think what you like, Kate. The point is I got the information for us and that's all that matters. Besides, you know my motto."

Kate rolled her eyes and quoted, "Work smarter, not harder?"

"Got it in one," Tony flashed a smile at her before strolling confidently back to his desk and sitting back down, leaving Kate stood in the middle of the Bullpen.

Enhancement?

He didn't need no stinking enhancement to be good at his job!

At least...not yet he didn't.


End file.
